Effects of S-R mapping and response modality on performance in a Stroop Task

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Human Factors
• Experimental Psychology

Background:

• The Stroop effect demonstrates interference in reaction time when stimulus information is conflicting.
• Understanding stimulus-response (S-R) mapping is crucial for explaining cognitive task performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how compatible and incompatible stimulus-response mappings affect reaction times in a choice reaction task.
• To explore the role of logical recoding and cue congruence in modulating the Stroop effect.

Main Methods:

• Forty participants completed a choice reaction time task using color words (Red/Green) printed in incongruent or congruent ink colors.
• Two response modes (verbal, key press) and two cue relevance conditions (word or ink color) were employed.
• Participants were assigned to either compatible or incompatible stimulus-response mapping instructions.

Main Results:

• Under compatible S-R mapping, faster reaction times occurred when the irrelevant cue corresponded with the response.
• Under incompatible S-R mapping, faster reaction times occurred when the irrelevant cue did not correspond with the response.
• Results suggest that logical recoding of cues influences performance, potentially explaining the Stroop effect through cue congruence.

Conclusions:

• The findings support the concept of logical recoding, where instructions to alter the interpretation of relevant cues can influence irrelevant cues.
• The Stroop effect may be better explained by the congruence between relevant and irrelevant cues rather than the correspondence between the irrelevant cue and the response.